The Desirable Vitamin D

The Desirable Vitamin D

Most commonly referred to as vitamin D, this hormone can act as one of your biggest advocates in maintaining and improving optimum health. Its estimated that over one billion people worldwide are vitamin D deficient (1).  This is a problem. Not only do adequate-high levels of vitamin D improve immune function, they can also stave off weight gain, inflammation, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, cancer risk, depression, fatigue, heart disease and increased bone and muscle strength (2)(3).

Vitamin D doesn’t always cause symptoms and because the symptoms that it can cause often mimic other health concerns, it can be hard to tell if you are truly deficient without a test.  Some symptoms that should prompt you to get a blood test from your doctor include:

  • Frequent Colds
  • Tiredness
  • Bone pain or fractures
  • Foggy Thinking
  • Muscle weakness
  • Metabolic Syndrome
  • Depression
  • Hair Loss

A recent study looked at how low vitamin D levels and a high fat diet can increase your likelihood of having metabolic syndrome.  Metabolic syndrome is categized as having 3 of the following symptoms: high blood sugar, low HDL (good) cholesterol, high levels of triglycerides, large waist circumference (more than 40 inches for men and 35inches for women) and/or high blood pressure.

What are low levels and what can you do to improve them? Vitamin D deficiency is less than 30nmol/L and for some people less than 50nmol/L. To improve vitamin D levels, about 90% of our vitamin D comes from sun exposure and 10% comes from food. It takes about 15 minutes for a very fair-skinned person, or a couple of hours or more for a tan or dark-skinned person, to receive their daily dose of vitamin D. If you are unable to get this taking a vitamin D supplement is recommended.

Sources:

 

  1. Lips P. Worldwide status of vitamin D nutrition. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2010; 121:297-300.
  2. “Vitamin D and Health”. The Nutrition Source. Harvard Health Web. 29 Mar. 2017.
  3. Su, Danmei et al. “Vitamin D Signaling Through Induction Of Paneth Cell Defensins Maintains Gut Microbiota And Improves Metabolic Disorders And Hepatic Steatosis In Animal Models”. Frontiers in Physiology 7 (2016): n. pag. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.

 

If you are looking for the highest quality Vitamin and Mineral Supplements personalized for you, please go to www.personanutrition.com and take their on-line questionnaire providing individualized vitamin and mineral recommendations. Persona is the only Science Based supplement provider on the web today! Take advantage of their knowledge and use it to your health’s benefit!
This information is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging. Do not use the information from this article for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing medication or other treatment. Always speak with your physician or other healthcare professional before taking any medication or nutritional, herbal or homeopathic supplement, or using any treatment for a health problem. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, contact your health care provider promptly. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking professional advice because of something you have read in this article.
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